Lanzhou beef stretched noodles go global

Dubbed the "Best noodles in China", the Lanzhou beef noodles have been sold in more than 20 countries around the world until now. Lanzhou beef noodles, swimming in a clear soup garnished with white radish, red chillis, green caraway and yellow noodles, is the most famous local snack in the city of Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province in northwest China.

The statistics show that there are about 30,000 Lanzhou beef stretched noodles restaurants across China, which create over 100 million job opportunities and create an annual sales volume of 60 billion yuan.

• Since the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward in 2013, the Lanzhou beef stretched noodles have served as an ambassador of the history, culture and economy of Lanzhou in many countries. The first Lanzhou beef stretched noodles restaurant in Kyrghyzstan was established in 2015.

"The Lanzhou beef stretched noodles are the combination of farming and nomadic cultures," said Wang Shaorong, vice-director of the Lanzhou Municipal Bureau of Commercial Affairs. "The noodle has now established restaurants in the US, UK, France, South Korea, Singapore, Egypt, UAE, Kyrghyzstan and some other countries."

The Lanzhou beef stretched noodles have new development opportunities, namely, the prosperity of catering industry and China’s policy of supply-side structural reform, said Ma Limin, chairman of the Lanzhou Beef Stretched Noodles Association. The industry should make use of the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative and explore the overseas market, he added.

In the future, the industry should advance standardized, industrialized and internationalized development, enhance personnel training, diversify investment sources, and step up chain operation and brand building, Ma said. A complete industrial system incorporating R&D, training, production, processing, logistics, distribution and operation is expected to set up in the future, he noted.